Jesus, in His last breath before death declared "it is finished" (John 19:30). I believe this to be much more profound than merely alluding to His suffering on the cross but rather the accomplishment of redemption from the demands of the law and the ransom it held over our heads because of sin. I believe this is a victory cry of Jesus who stuck it out until the good pleasure of He and His Father were accomplished (Isa. 53:10, Heb.12:2).
What's equally beautiful is His heart seen in His first post-resurrection message for His disciples, "go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" - John 20:17b. "My brothers", Having accomplished their redemption He now recognizes them as full-fledged family inasmuch as He is. Furthermore He doesn't merely say He's ascending to His Father and His God, but recognizes He's also ascending to their Father and their God and wanted them to know that. What an unusual way to speak if not for any other reason than to point out that you now share the same Dad! (Rom. 8:15). Many times Jesus had spoken of "My Father" or "the Father" (John chapter 14 for example) but prior to this in the book of John He had never been referred to as "your Father". The significance of this was huge.
Of all the post-resurrection messages, the first word He desired His disciples to hear was one identifying them as being now His family in every respect, as brothers with the same Dad (Rom. 8:15). Prideful and narcissistic people seek to keep their status above others, Jesus set His status aside (Phil. 2:6), eager to bring everyone up to His level...even as His family, making them fellow children of God as His brothers and sisters and thereby joint heirs to the kingdom, and thus sharing in His glory (Rom. 8:17)...for free (Rom 6:23).
Isaiah 53:11 speaks of God looking forward to this moment from long ago. "As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied". In other words it was this very moment of accomplishing your rebirth, inclusion, adoption, and eternal life, that He looked ahead to that gave Him satisfaction that all the anguish would be worth it. Jesus in John 16:21 likened it to a woman in labor; "whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world." Peter used a similar analogy in Acts 2:24 in speaking of God raising Jesus up, "loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it". The Greek word for "pangs" literally means "a birth pang".
What we're witnessing here in John chapter 20 is the joy in Jesus Christ that is causing Him to no longer remember the anguish that brought about that joy. The result far outweighs the suffering so that the suffering becomes trivial in comparison. It's not that the suffering is made smaller, but your redemption to Him means that much. Any lesser reason wouldn't have been sufficient motivation to endure, but Hebrews 12:2 tells us that it was "for the joy set before Him [He] endured the cross". You are that joy, He did that for you.
Matthew 27:50 records Jesus, having now accomplished all that was required to redeem you, breathing His last and giving up His spirit. The very next verse, the VERY NEXT VERSE, verse 51 records that the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Like God's hands already had a firm grip at the top of the veil as He watched His Son's success approaching. The very same veil that separated God in the Holy of Holies from man who was anything but holy...that is up until this very point. Then, the moment the birth pains were over and Christ's work was finished (John 19:30), God immediately ripped it wide open without delay, why? Because He could! I'd bet this was anything but a clean tear, He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time (Isa. 53:10). Because of Jesus man could now come to God, and God was unhindered from coming to man and making His dwelling among them without risk to them (Mat. 1:23, Exo. 33:20). God who "longs to be gracious to you" and "waits on high to have compassion on you" (Isa. 30:18) now could...and nothing was going to stop Him! His Mercy came running like a prisoner set free.
After Jesus sends word by way of Mary I love His next interactions recorded in this same chapter. At least 3 times He starts His encounters with the words "Peace be to you" (John 20:19,21,26). Jesus is eager to dish out for free what He worked so long and hard to accomplish. Peace with God. A cheerful giver spends a lot on a gift because of the joy of giving it. There is never a more generous and cheerful giver than our Lord and Father. Though the gift cost Jesus His life and our Father His Son, the joy of gifting that to you freely was well worth it to Him, and now that He can, He's dishing it out in abundance to all who would receive it (John 1:12, Mat. 22:9).
"Peace be to you". He gives that out freely as if it weren't crazy expensive. Cheerful gift givers often do similar things in order that those who are the recipients wouldn't shy away from accepting it. We downplay the cost like it was no big deal in order that the recipient would be more inclined and comfortable taking it. Though we incur significant cost and time we say things like "oh it was nothing" or "it's no big deal" and we make up excuses as to why it makes sense for them to have this gift. Why? Because we want them to have it. What is important to a cheerful gift giver is not the recognition of their costs or efforts that went in, but the joy that comes from the recipient being blessed. That joy overrides all costs incurred to accomplish it making such costs trivial by comparison. The fear of the recipient rejecting it and therefore not being blessed causes us to even justify them having it, even trying to make them think they earned it if that's what it takes because who gets the credit isn't more important to us than the recipient receiving it.
I often wonder if something similar is going on when Jesus said things like "your faith has saved you" (Luke 7:50, 8:48, 18:42). Maybe by saying that, we are okay with accepting salvation because we may be less inclined to receive such a gift if He said, "Me doing everything right followed by being tortured extensively and enduring excruciating pain, agony, and humiliation saved you". Shoot, Peter wouldn't even allow Him to wash his feet (John 13:8). The truth is, for our Father God this cost Him His Son, and Jesus would literally spend His entire life and death paying for this, and then so easily He dishes it out "Peace be to you". That, I'd say, is the downplay of the millennium. What you may not notice that happens in the background is how much joy it gives Him to give this to you (Luke 15:20) and how important it is to His heart that you receive it (2 Cor. 5:20, 2 Pet. 3:9). You need not pay Him back, nor do you need to understand it's full value or what was needed to accomplish it. For Him, He just wants you to receive it and every time someone does all of heaven erupts with Him in much rejoicing and celebration (Luke 15:7,10,32).
I believe this post-resurrected, pre-ascension Jesus gave us not only understanding into the heart of God but a glimpse of what heaven will be like. The price has been paid, the birth pains are over, and now Christ is Himself beginning to enjoy His inheritance, that is, you (Eph. 1:18), and He will continue to do so for all eternity (Luke 12:32, John 14:2-3).
As I see how excited Jesus is to dish out His extremely hard earned accomplishment freely on others I think to myself "man that would be fun to bless like that". Then it hit me, that is what sharing the gospel is. It's like a dad who purchased the best gift for his children and tells those whom received it first to then go give it to the others (Phil. 1:7, Mat. 10:8). Thus we become partakers with Christ in His blessing! (Rom. 10:15, Col. 1:12, Heb. 3:1). While if there was nobody to give He would make sure you got it Himself (Luke 19:40) but since we are present, how it must compound His joy when we delightfully share His joy in blessing others with His graciousness!